Fidelity Bank boosts Nigeria’s gas revenue with financing of Temile Development Company’s new LPG carrier
Ben Eguzozie
L–R: Alfred Temile, chairman/CEO, Temile Development Company Limited; his wife, Anita Temile; Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd); Esitmbom Ekpo, wife of the minister of state for petroleum resources (gas); Ekperikpe Luke Ekpo, minister of state for petroleum resources (gas); Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, managing director/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc; the wife HK Kim, president/CEO, Hyundai MIPO Dockyard; and HK Kim, during the commissioning of Temile’s Ultramodern LPG Gas Carrier financed by Fidelity Bank Plc in South Korea, recently
Nigeria’s domestic gas industry has received a fresh boost with the recent commissioning of a new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessel, a 23,000 cubic metres LPG carrier, which was financed by Fidelity Bank Plc.
Described by industry watchers as a significant milestone in the advancement of the country’s domestic gas industry and the generation of gas revenues, the new vessel was commissioned by Temile Development Company Ltd, a key indigenous player in the oil and gas industry.
Named ‘Alfred Temile 10’, the vessel was part-financed by Fidelity Bank, Nigerian leading bank, and was commissioned at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea.
The commissioning was witnessed by the group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), Mele Kyari; managing director/chief executive officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe; minister of state for petroleum resources (gas), Ekperikpe Luke Ekpo; the Chargé D’Affairs Ad Interim of the Embassy of Nigeria in South Korea, Ferdinand Nwonye; executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Omatsola Ogbe, among others.
Kyari, the NNPCL chief executive lauded Temile Development Company on the impressive development, saying: “I congratulate Mr. Alfred for the great feat you have achieved on behalf of our country; and we understand that today clean energy is everything because the whole world is transitioning to cleaner fuel. In our country, biomass is the major source of energy, and I know that the efforts we are making collectively and with this effort by Temile Group will enhance that ability to produce cleaner energy in our country.”
On her own part, the managing director and chief executive of Fidelity Bank, Onyeali-Ikpe, said the commissioning was a landmark achievement for Nigeria as the vessel would further support the nation’s drive to utilize cleaner energy sources, especially as the world transitions to environmental-friendly energy options.
“Fidelity Bank is delighted to facilitate this transaction; and we congratulate our amiable customer —Mr. Alfred Temile— as well as the good people of Nigeria on this feat.”
The TDC vessel is the second of its kind being part-financed by the bank, and further underscores its support for the oil and gas industry.
Alfred Temile, the CEO of Temile Development Company, expressed appreciation for the collaboration and strong support received from the NNPC Ltd and other stakeholders throughout the project’s journey.
The vessel will bolster the local participation of indigenous maritime players, improve the logistics of LPG supply, and increase the availability of LPG for the Nigerian last-mile users.
It will also contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s domestic gas industry, while demonstrating the dedication and increasing capabilities of indigenous Nigerian companies in the oil and gas sector.
Fidelity Bank Plc had also part-financed the development of the recently launched Pinnacle Oil and Gas Terminal in Lagos as part of its efforts to improve energy security in the country.
Nigeria’s LPG consumption rose to 1.3 million tonnes in 2021, according to the Nigerian LPG Association (NLPGA). The Nigerian gas liquefaction company NLNG had intervened which has seen the supply of LPG grow from 60,000 metric tonnes in 2007 to over 1.3 million metric tons in 2021, a growth of over 1,000 percent.
But this is not enough as LPG domestic consumption far outstrips the local supply. According to the OECD, Nigeria in 2021, imported LPG worth $327 million, mainly from United States ($284 million), Equatorial Guinea ($17.6 million), Guinea Conakry ($9.92 million), Ghana ($8.35 million), and the United Kingdom ($3.7 million).